The present invention generally relates to a document processing apparatus which is capable of editing displayed documents composed of, for example, text and figures, using a personal computer or the like.
Accompanied by advances in hardware development, improvements in data processing of personal computers have been achieved including the display processing of documents composed of both text and figures.
FIG. 20 shows a block diagram of a conventional document processing apparatus.
In FIG. 20, reference numeral 2007 is a display frame (screen) which is the display area of a display device; reference numeral 2001 is a character code storing means A for storing as first text a first character code; reference numeral 2002 is a display area memory means A for storing coordinates of the display frame 2007 indicative of the location on the display frame 2007 at which the first character codes stored in the character code memory means A2001 are to be displayed; reference numeral 2003 is a sentence block display means A for effecting display, within the area of the display frame 2007 stored in the display area memory means A2002, of the first character code stored in the character code memory means A2001; reference numeral 2004 is a character code memory means B for storing as second text a second character code; reference numeral 2005 is a display area memory means B for storing coordinates of the display frame 2007 indicative of the location on the display frame 2007 at which the second character code stored on the character code memory means B2004 are to be displayed; reference numeral 2006 is a sentence block display means B for displaying, within the area of the display frame 2007 stored in the display area memory means B2002, the second character code stored in the character code memory means B2004; reference numeral 2008 is a displayed text block A of the first text; and reference numeral 2009 is a displayed text block B of the second text.
FIG. 21 depicts an example of a display frame associated with the conventional document processing apparatus. The operation of the apparatus of FIG. 20 will be described with reference to FIG. 21. The text shown by reference numeral 2101 is stored in the character code memory means A2001. When the coordinates 2102 are stored in the display area memory means A2002, the text 2101 is displayed at the coordinates 2102 of the display frame 2007 by the sentence block display means A2003.
Similarly, the text shown by reference numeral 2103 is stored in the character code memory means B2004. When the coordinates 2104 are stored in the display area memory means B2005, the text 2103 is displayed at the coordinates 2104 of the display frame 2007 by the sentence block display means B2006.
Reference numeral 2105 in FIG. 21 is a figure which is displayed simultaneously with the text 2101 and 2103, and reference numeral 2106 is a coordinate area in which the figure is displayed.
Such a system is called a "Sentence block system". Sentence blocks or text blocks are formed in which a rectangular area surrounds the sentence or text in the manner of a figure element. For example, Page Maker software by the Aldus company, which operates on the MACINTOSH personal computer of the Apple company, have adopted this system.
If the FIG. 2105 shown in FIG. 21 is moved downwards on the display frame 2007, an image on the display frame 2007 as shown in FIG. 22 will result.
The contents of the character code memory means 2001 and 2004 and the display area memory means 2002 and 2005 do not change when movement of the FIG. 2105 occurs. In FIG. 22, the content 2201 of the first text block conforms to the text 2101 of the FIG. 21, and the display coordinate position 2202 conforms to the display coordinate position 2102 of FIG. 21. Similarly, the content 2203 of the second text block conforms to the text 2103 of FIG. 21 and the display coordinate position 2203 conforms to the display coordinate position of 2103 of FIG. 21. Reference numeral 2205 in FIG. 22 is the moved figure, and reference numeral 2206 is a display coordinate area of the FIG. 2205.
As shown in FIG. 22, as a result of the movement of the FIG. 2205, the FIG. 2205 is superimposed on the text block 2204, thus resulting in an undesirable image.
As shown in FIG. 23, it is thus preferable that the text be moved and integrated to avoid the figure area when the figure area and the sentence blocks would otherwise be superimposed on each other through movement of the figure. FIG. 23 is a display frame image of an ideal example. Reference numeral 2301 is an integrated character code and reference numeral 2302 is an integrated text block. However, in the document processing apparatus using the conventional sentence block system, it is not possible to realize such a preferable operation.
In order to overcome this problem, a new document processing apparatus is developed. FIG. 24 shows a block diagram thereof. In FIG. 24, reference numeral 2408 is a display frame (screen) which is the image display area of a display device; reference numeral 2401 is a character code memory means for storing all the character codes; reference numeral 2402 is a line character number computing means A for computing the maximum number of text characters to be displayed on a first line on the display frame 2408; reference numeral 2403 is a character range specifying means A for specifying, based on the character number computed by the line character number computing means A2402, a character range to be extracted from the character code memory means 2401; reference numeral 2404 is a line display means A for displaying, on a first line of the picture frame 2408, the character range from the character code memory means 2401 specified by the character range specifying means A2402; reference numeral 2405 is a line character number computing means B for computing the maximum number of characters to be displayed on a second lime of the display frame 2408; reference numeral 2406 is a character range specifying means B for specifying, based on the character number computed by the line character number computing means B2405, a character range to be extracted from the character code memory means 2401 which is contiguous with the range specified by the character range specifying means A2403; reference numeral 2407 is a line displaying means B for displaying on the second line of the display frame 2408 the character range from the character code memory means 2401 specified by the character range specifying means B; reference numeral 2409 is a first line region of the display frame 2401; reference numeral 2410 is a text displayed in the first line region 2409; reference numeral 2411 is a second line region of the display frame 2401; and reference numeral 2411 is a text to be displayed in the second line region 2411. A line character number computing means, a character range specifying means and a line displaying means are provided for each line number of the display frame.
Such a system is called a "Sentence stream system" in which all the sentences or text are stored, as a series, in the character code storing means 2401, and a maximum number of characters are specified and extracted for display. The sentence stream system is used by, for example, the Guide software of the OWL company of England.
In the sentence stream system, in the case of FIG. 22, the display area except for the figure is automatically divided into line regions so as to compute the number of characters to be displayed in the respective line regions. FIG. 25 depicts a display frame example of the line division. Reference numeral 2501 is a figure and reference numeral 2502 is a display coordinate area of the FIG. 2501. Reference numerals 2503 through 2509 are first to seventh line regions of the display frame area excluding the display area 2502 of the FIG. 2501.
FIG. 26 shows a conceptional operation chart of the sentence stream system. In FIG. 26, reference numeral 2601 is a character code memory means for storing the text shown therein. Reference numeral 2602 is a line number; reference numeral 2603 is a maximum number of characters capable of display per line as computed by the line character number computing means 2402 and 2405 per each line; reference numeral 2604 is a start character position indicating for each line the overall character number of the character displayed at the initial line position from among the characters stored in the character code memory means in accordance with the maximum character number 2603; reference numeral 2605 is an end character position indicating for each line the overall character number of the character displayed at the last line position from among the characters stored in the character code memory means in accordance with the maximum character number 2603.
Since the first line accommodates ten characters at maximum, the first character through the tenth character of the character code storing means 2401 are accommodated in the first line. This character range is shown in reference numeral 2606.
Since the second line accommodates ten characters at maximum, the eleventh character through the twentieth character of the character code storing means 2401 are accommodated in the second line. This character range is shown in reference numeral 2607.
Since the third line accommodates ten characters at maximum, the twenty-first character through the thirtieth character of the character code storing means 2401 are accommodated in the third line. This character range is shown in reference numeral 2608.
Although the fourth line accommodates ten characters at maximum, only seven characters remain from among the characters stored in the character code memory means 2401, so that the thirty-first character through the thirty-seventh character are accommodated in the fourth line. This character range is shown in reference numeral 2609.
An example of the display frame resulting from the above process is shown in FIG. 27.
In FIG. 27, reference numeral 2701 is a figure; reference numeral 2702 is a display area of the FIG. 2701; reference numeral 2703 through reference numeral 2706 are the first through fourth line regions of the display frame; reference numeral 2707 through reference numeral 2710 are the text characters accommodated in the first through the fourth line regions. The display of FIG. 27 is the same as that of FIG. 23, and automatic arrangement of the text may be realized by the movement of the same figure.
However, when text such as an explanatory comment is attached to the figure, the sentence stream system is not suitable. FIG. 28 shows a display frame example of the sentence stream system when the comment "square" has been attached to the figure.
In FIG. 28, reference numeral 2801 is a figure; reference numeral 2802 is a display area of the FIG. 2801; reference numeral 2803 is a character code memory means; reference numeral 2804 is a text to be displayed on the first line from among the characters stored in the character code memory means 2803; reference numeral 2805 is a text to be displayed on the second line; reference numeral 2806 is the first line region of the display frame; reference numeral 2807 is the text displayed at the first line region 2806; reference numeral 2808 is the second line region of the display frame; and reference numeral 2809 is the text displayed at the second line region 2808.
In this case, although the characters to be displayed are three characters, the characters to be actually stored are sixteen. Also, the comment text cannot be moved within the display frame together with movement of the FIG. 2801.
However, in the sentence block system, if the coordinates of the display frame region of the movement destination are set in the display area storing means 2002 and 2005, it is possible to move the text comment.
In the sentence block system of FIG. 20, text cannot be set in a display frame region to avoid superimposing the text and the figure when the text and/or figure is moved, although text comments accompanying the figure can be moved with the figure. Conversely, in the sentence stream system of FIG. 24, text can be set in a display frame region to avoid superimposing the figure, but the text comments accompanying the figure cannot be moved with the figure.